SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST:
Alpha Phi Chapter F E B R U A R Y
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Follow the Chapter on Twitter: @VTAlphaPhiBetas Special thanks and best wishes to graduated seniors from Fall 2010: Brad deWet Andrew Nicolello The Chapter GPA ranks 2nd among all IFC fraternities with a 3.037 for the Fall. Fall 4.0s Jonathan Ammarati ‘13 Josh Ehrlich ‘13 Hunter Roberts ‘14
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
New Pledge Class Initiated in Oxford The undergraduates journeyed to Oxford, Ohio during the first weekend of the semester to initiate a class of 18 men at the founding site of Beta Theta Pi. Joining them on the trip were alumni Charlie Comer „75, T.O. Williams „83, Bradley de Wet „10, and Andrew Nicollelo „10, Pledge Educator Steve Griffin „12, reflected on the pledge process, “This….was one of the most memorable experiences I have had since joining Beta Theta Pi. I watched the class knit together as brothers, bonding during activities like weekly family dinners and cheering their pledge brothers on during intramural championships. It is the largest class since recolonization and the first to travel to Oxford for an initiation.”
The event was special for all who were initiated, but even more so for one brother in particular. Ben Drew ‟14 had an even greater cause for excitement
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Initiation… continued
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Pillow Fight, Back Again
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A Note for the Alumni
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Alumni Invention
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Keystone Conference
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Letter from the President
Intramural Quickie
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Brothers — As we enter into 2011, the Alpha Phi chapter has a bright future ahead. The newly elected officers have now transitioned into their positions and things are off to a great start. We opened the semester with a road trip to Oxford, OH where the entire chapter got a tour of the Beta Theta Pi Administrative Office
than most when his grandfather—John E. Hocking, Miami „48—drove 4.5 hours to his alma mater to attend the initiation of his grandson.
and then we initiated our largest pledge class since the refounding in the Hall of Chapters. This trip was a great experience for every brother and for the majority of our chapter, it was their first chance to see the beautiful facilities of the General Fraternity. We have now turned our focus back to recruitment in hopes of continuing our great success in this area. This week-
end, eight members of the Executive Board are Cherry Hill, NJ bound for the annual Keystone Regional Leadership Conference. As basketball season enters crunch time, I invite any alumni in town for games to drop by the house and I hope to see you at the Spring Game. Yours in ____kai____, Matt Hoffner „12, President
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Initiation...continued Ben recalls, “It was very cool having him pin me with his old Beta pin, which is a bit of a family heirloom. The diamond in it had once belonged to my great grandfather, who died while my grandpa was young so he inherited it and used it in his Beta pin. Later he gave the pin to my grandma under the Beta bells as a pre-proposal, after meeting her at a Beta picnic. The coolest part was seeing how much Beta still means to him after all this time.”
“The coolest part was seeing how much Beta still means to him after all this time.”
Hunter Roberts „14 Barboursville, VA Jason Berube „14, Knoxville, TN Luke Boardman „14, Millersville, MD Ryan Callihan „14, Charlottesville, VA Matthew Demerly „14, Stephens City, VA Ed Devine ‟13 Lincroft, NJ Brian Dickey „13, Downingtown, PA Matt Donaldson „14, Keller , TX Ben Drew „14, Hudson, OH Tyler Drudick „14, Waxhaw, NC Ryan Gambino „14, Glenside, PA Sam Greenberg „14, Wilmington, DE Graham Nichols „13, Cape Elizabeth, ME Andrew Oja „14, Orlando, FL Matthew Sewell „14, Free Union, VA Andrew Smith ‟14 Prince George, VA Mitchell Smith ‟14 Charlottesville, VA Chris Van Oss „14, Lagrangeville, NY
Pillow Fight, Back Again For the third time since 2005, Beta Theta Pi hosted hundreds of participants on the Drillfield for a massive pillow fight involving students, community members, and more. The event attracted approximately 500 people who in turn raised more than $1,700 for a good cause. A short portion of the write-up from The Roanoke Times follows:
BLACKSBURG—About 500 people carried their pillows to the Virginia Tech Drillfield on Sunday afternoon and proceeded to pummel one another silly. They failed to set a world record for the largest pillow fight as hoped. But that's OK, said Anthony Malizia, philanthropy chairman of Beta Theta Pi fraternity, which organized the BYOSP
(bring your own soft pillow) fundraiser. The most important thing, he said, was helping Maddie Atkinson, a 10-monthold girl battling bladder cancer. "What better way to help out the family than to have a huge pillow fight?" Malizia said. Read more: www.roanoke.com/ news/nrv/wb/264312
A Note for the Alumni My name is Jake Carter and I am pleased to introduce myself as the new Alumni Relations Chair for the Alpha Phi Chapter. It is my goal to bridge the gap between alumni and undergraduate mem-
Football tailgates happen regularly and all are welcome.
ALPHA
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bers of this beloved chapter of Beta Theta Pi. I see great potential in interactions amongst the current undergraduate members and those of alumni status. The principle of lifelong friendship is one of the main reasons I decided to join this great fraternal organization,
as I am sure it was for many of you. I hope that you as alumni wish to remain close with brothers of your time in the Alpha Phi Chapter, as well as learning of the successes of the current members. — Jake Carter ‘11, Alumni Relations Chair
FEBRUARY
2011
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Alumni Invention is International Hit Try Googling these words: beer robot iphone Is your interest piqued yet? If not, keep reading. Graham Phero „07 and Ryan Rusnak „07 seem to have found a winning combination to creating an internet sensation. Just invent something that most men dream about...then upload video evidence to YouTube. And what they decided to invent is an iPhone-enabled, beer-launching robot. Amazing, right?
Now if you Googled the words mentioned before, you‟d have seen just how far this has spread. The videos on YouTube have received more than 1.2M hits since December 2010. The invention has been featured on websites like Wired, Time, DIscoveryNews and more. Even a British talk-show got hold of the working model and had “Joey” from Friends test it out. But neither inventors are worried about anyone stealing the idea.
Graham is an attorney for Oblon Spivak, one of the largest intellectual property firms in the world.
“...a regional education
New Exec Board Heading to Keystone From Feb. 4-6, members of the executive board will travel to Philadelphia for the Keystone Regional Leadership Conference, a regional education experience focusing on chapter officer development, principled leadership and volunteer training. There are now six different conferences that support all chapters in the U.S. and Canada. More to come upon their return.
President: Matt Hoffner ‘12 VP: Michael Foust ‘13 Treasurer: Matthew Bell ‘13 Secretary: Paul Miller „12 Recruitment: John Lohr ‘12 Pledge Ed.: Stephen Adrian ‘12 Alumni: Jake Carter ‘11 House Manager: Jon Ciccone „13 Leadership: Jonathan Ammarati „13 Philanthropy: Anthony Malizia „13 Risk Manager: Dan Wrobel ‘13 Ritual: Matthew Riondet ‘12 Social: Josh Smith „13
Intramural Quickie In talking to alums who have passed through the Halls of Beta Theta Pi, a certain commonality emerges from conversations. The first words of many returning alumni go something like, “How‟d we do with intramurals?” or “Point me to the all-intramural trophy from 1980something.” Of course, there are so many trophies, that it‟s hard to remember where they all are.
But along those lines, the Chapter is proud of a few brothers who excelled in their sport and brought a warm smile from Wooglin himself. Congratulations to Eric Sollenberger, Connor Miller, John Lohr, Josh Ehrlich for recently winning the intramural volleyball championship. Way to go, guys!
experience focusing on officer development, principled leadership, and volunteer
Bold = Invited to Keystone
training.”
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